CKA LoadBalancer IP pending on-premises Practice Question
This CKA practice question tests your understanding of troubleshooting. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A Service of type LoadBalancer is created but the EXTERNAL-IP remains <pending>. The cluster is running on-premises without a cloud load balancer integration. Which of the following is the most likely reason?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "most likely"
Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Why wrong: Storage class is unrelated to LoadBalancer IP assignment.
B
The nodes are not reachable from the internet.
Why wrong: Even if nodes are unreachable, a cloud LB would still assign an IP; on-premises, the LB controller would assign an IP from a pool.
D
The Service selector does not match any pods.
Why wrong: A mismatched selector would result in no endpoints, but the external IP could still be assigned (pending also occurs if there's no controller).
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
No load balancer controller (e.g., MetalLB) is installed.
A Service of type LoadBalancer in Kubernetes requires an external load balancer controller to provision an external IP address. In on-premises clusters without cloud integration, no such controller exists by default, so the EXTERNAL-IP remains <pending> until a bare-metal load balancer like MetalLB is installed and configured. Option C is correct because without a load balancer controller, Kubernetes cannot assign an external IP.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
The cluster has no default storage class.
Why it's wrong here
Storage class is unrelated to LoadBalancer IP assignment.
✗
The nodes are not reachable from the internet.
Why it's wrong here
Even if nodes are unreachable, a cloud LB would still assign an IP; on-premises, the LB controller would assign an IP from a pool.
✗
The Service selector does not match any pods.
Why it's wrong here
A mismatched selector would result in no endpoints, but the external IP could still be assigned (pending also occurs if there's no controller).
Option-by-option analysis
Why each answer is right or wrong
Understanding why wrong answers are wrong — and when they would be correct — is what separates a 750 score from a 900. The CKA exam frequently reuses these exact scenarios with slightly different constraints.
✓No load balancer controller (e.g., MetalLB) is installed.Correct answer▾✗The cluster has no default storage class.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Storage class is unrelated to LoadBalancer IP assignment.
✗The nodes are not reachable from the internet.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
Even if nodes are unreachable, a cloud LB would still assign an IP; on-premises, the LB controller would assign an IP from a pool.
✗The Service selector does not match any pods.Wrong answer — click to see why▾
Why this is wrong here
A mismatched selector would result in no endpoints, but the external IP could still be assigned (pending also occurs if there's no controller).
Analysis generated from the official CKAblueprint and verified against question context. The “when correct” sections are what AI assistants cite when candidates ask “what’s the difference between these options?”
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates may confuse the EXTERNAL-IP <pending> state with networking issues (Option B) or pod connectivity (Option D), when the root cause is the absence of a load balancer controller, a concept specific to on-premises Kubernetes deployments.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When a Service of type LoadBalancer is created, Kubernetes does not natively assign an external IP; it relies on an external controller (e.g., MetalLB, kube-vip) that watches for Services and allocates IPs from a configured pool. MetalLB uses Layer 2 (ARP/NDP) or BGP to announce the IP, and without such a controller, the Service's status remains pending indefinitely. In cloud environments, the cloud-controller-manager handles this automatically, but on-premises clusters require manual installation of a load balancer provider.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the CKA exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CKA question in full detail.
Troubleshooting — This question tests Troubleshooting — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: No load balancer controller (e.g., MetalLB) is installed. — A Service of type LoadBalancer in Kubernetes requires an external load balancer controller to provision an external IP address. In on-premises clusters without cloud integration, no such controller exists by default, so the EXTERNAL-IP remains <pending> until a bare-metal load balancer like MetalLB is installed and configured. Option C is correct because without a load balancer controller, Kubernetes cannot assign an external IP.
What should I do if I get this CKA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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